Sign of Madness
by InkDragoness
Summary: King Russet still dreams of Lys, though he knows she's dead...sacrificing herself for that devil!  Oh Lys, why do I see you in everything?  Why?  Oneshot.  -I know she's not dead!-  T for language and suggestive themes.  Please review if you like it!


**Hello, welcome to my first oneshot! I fell in love with Hanatsuki Hime when I was surfing Onemanga and clicked the Surprise Me! link. It's such a wonderful story! So I wrote a oneshot for it! I hope you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: Most of the dialogue in this oneshot is taken directly from the manga and does not belong to me. I wrote everything else, though.**

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Russet, king of the Iolite Kingdom, was lonely.

Not lonely in the way of wishing for company. Oh no, he had plenty of company. Lords scheming his downfall, advisors exasperated with his unwillingness to stay in one place, couriers constantly searching for him…He wasn't lonely in the company sense. He was lonely in the love sense.

Of course, he had a harem full of women hoping to please their king with their bodies. Taking them to bed did help the loneliness sometimes, and always kept the lust at bay for a while…But what he really wanted was true love, someone who loved him for who he was, not for his lofty position, as clichéd as that sounds.

But, he had lost the girl of his dreams to a demon. A demon, of all people! One who had thirsted for her heart! How could someone so evil capture the love of such a beautiful woman? Even if, Russet admitted grudgingly, said devil had tried to sacrifice himself for the foolish girl.

Russet laughed bitterly. It hadn't done much good in the end. She had marched up to him…and killed herself for his sake. Russet hoped he was happy, that damned demon. That damn, selfish demon who couldn't realize how lucky he was to have attracted such a girl.

Russet wearily got out of bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping girl beside him. She had long, flowy pink tresses, and when her eyes were open, they were a soft brown. Some of the lords had noticed his sudden liking for brown-eyed pinkettes. They just believed that those two colours were his favourites for women. They refused to believe that this colour obsession was made after the image of the cursed Hanatsuki girl, whom he had 'chased on a foolish whim of youth'. Oh, how wrong they were.

He groaned as a bright shaft of light danced into his eyes, temporarily blinding him. The light reminded him of her, brilliant and joyful, who danced as gracefully as a delicate petal, fluttering in the breeze.

Oh Lys, why must I see you in everything?

He got out of his hotel room, deciding to explore the town before he moved on to the next in his tour of his country. It had only taken a couple of months after his crowning for him to be driven mad enough to have to get as far away from the royal palace as he could. He called this escape 'getting to know his country better', though the clever disguise hadn't fooled the minor lords, who whispered of the rapidly declining state of the kingdom if such a king kept his position.

He had brought the girl along on an impulse; he knew that visiting the areas where she had danced would be difficult, so a little release of the sexual tension was necessary. He had begun to like the girl a little for her way of speaking her mind, and the way she became so embarrassed once she remembered his position. She was very cute when she blushed.

He strolled through the town, enjoying the way the townsfolk looked twice, but deciding that it couldn't possibly be the king visiting, they went back to their business. He preferred this side of his country, the real country, to the luxuries only he could experience.

Suddenly, he recognized a courier, one of his personal favourites, ride his horse down the street, a very determined look on his face as he cut through the crowd, not bothering to excuse himself.

"Damn!" Russet hissed, trying to duck into an alley. But the courier had already seen him.

"King Russet! King Russet!" he yelled, and he saw the people nearest him turn and stare.

A chorus of shocked and blubbered "Your Majesty!" was heard at the people near him bowed or curtsied and backed away. It didn't take long before a circle was cleared, a large empty space only containing him, the courier, and a weary mount.

"King Russet! I've been looking for you!" the courier started angrily, "Please stop your vagrant habits already!"

"What are you talking about?" Russet answered, "What's wrong with a king going around, having a look at his own country?"

The courier continued to lecture him, but it as half-heartedly. This courier had known Russet since he was little. He had always responded to lectures with that same aloofness he was using now. His thoughts drifted...oh, darn it! Why had he though of her?

Oh Lys, why must you haunt my thoughts?

"Your Highness, there's a very beautiful dancing girl over there." The courier interrupted his lecture, pointing. So, he had linked the new harem girls to Hanatsuki.

Russet turned with a sigh, and paused.

Impossible! It can't be her! How could this innocent, dancing girl, resemble so much to the cursed one he had fallen in love with? She had the same pink tresses that flowed so magnificently when she danced…her eyes were closed in the ecstasy of her movement. But…her chest lacked the beautiful but deadly flower mark. The mark that had bloomed upon her chest in such a fantastic way, though its beauty was lost in its symbolism.

The musician…could it be a coincidence? Could they be actors pretending to be the couple? It was impossible for Siva to be there, strumming his instrument as she danced. It must be the attention grabbing idea of a troupe, right?

Russet laughed then. He laughed until the people nearby turned and stared, then immediately turned back to the dancing girl when they realized that this strange man was the king. He must be going mad!

"Hanatsuki," he said turning away from the girl and striding away as the courier followed, "No longer exists."

Oh Lys, is seeing you, after giving up hope, wishful thinking, or is it real?

Or is it a sign of madness?

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**Thanks for reading! I tried to make it as poetic as possible. I really do like that style of writing~**

**Please review!**

**See ya later!**


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